We love making wings. They are cheap and can be made so many different ways. Sweet Thai chili chicken wings are definitely favorite in our house! If you don't want to mess with making the sauce, you can certainly buy one at your local grocery store. Also, buying wings whole is cheapest and you can separate them yourself to save some money.
Ingredients- 3 – 4 lbs chicken wings. We prefer drumettes and flappers separated over the entire wing.
- Meat Church Holy Gospel seasoning
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C rice vinegar
- 1/4 C water
- 3 T. fish sauce
- 2 T. sherry
- 4 cloves garlic, minced fine
- 1/2 to 1 T. dried crushed chili depending how hot you desire
- 1 1/2 T. cornstarch dissolved in 4 T. water
- Optional garnish – toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions
Prepare your Traeger
Prepare your grill at a temperature of 450. You have a lot of options on wood or pellets for a chicken wing cook, so we went with our old faithful – hickory. This temp will help get the wings crisper than a lower temp cook which can lead to rubbery skin.
Prepare the wings
If you bought the whole wing, remove the tip and separate the drummette and wing from each other. Pat them dry. Season the wings moderately on all sides with our Holy Gospel. This is a blend of our Holy Cow and our Gospel All Purpose. It is amazing as the base for chicken.
Sweet Thai Chili Sauce prep
Place all ingredients except the cornstarch in a sauce pan and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a slight boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and add the cornstarch and water mixture. Stir and until it thickens which will take 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat while your wings cook.
Chicken wing cook
Place the wings directly on the cooking grate of your Traeger for a total cook time of 20 minutes. Flip the wings halfway through the cook. I like to get as many tasty bites of char on my wings and flipping them will help achieve this on an additional side.
Using an instant thermometer your chicken wings should be between 165 – 180 degrees after 20 minutes. While chicken is safe at 165, it is ok to take wings even further as it is difficult to dry them out.
Finish the wings:
Toss the wings in the sweet thai chili sauce. Place them back in your Traeger for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to set. This will prevent the sauce from running all over you when trying to eat. Remove, allow to cool and enjoy!